ToeJam
ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth is an action video game released for the Xbox on October 23, 2002. Developed by ToeJam & Earl Productions and Visual Concepts, and published by Sega and Microsoft, it is the third installment in the ToeJam & Earl series. Players assume the role of one of three extraterrestrial protagonists: ToeJam and Earl, who starred in the series' first two games. While using power-ups to combat enemies, players seek to collect the twelve "Sacred Albums of Funk" and defeat the antagonistic "Anti-Funk". The original two ToeJam & Earl games were a key Sega Genesis franchise, but development of a third game was prevented by the poor North American commercial performance of the console's successor, the Sega Saturn. Versions of ToeJam & Earl III developed at different times for the Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast were canceled, but the latter was completed for the Xbox. On release, the game met with poor sales and mixed reviews; while certain critics found its gameplay innovative, its humour, soundtrack and graphics were variously praised and derided. Opinions of the game's overall enjoyability and longevity were also mixed. Synopsis ToeJam & Earl III follows the extraterrestrial protagonists ToeJam and Earl, who starred in the series' previous games, ToeJam is two-legged and red with a mouth; and Earl is overweight and orange. Both characters have been considered parodies of American hip-hop and urban culture. The two characters journey to Earth, in order to retrieve the stolen twelve Sacred Albums of Funk and return them to Lamont the Funkopotamus. Levels take place on terrains that represent Earth's ecosystems. The game's ultimate antagonist is the Anti-Funk, whose defeat will "save the world from all that is unfunky". The "funk" has been described as a parody of Star Wars' the Force, with the Anti-Funk being the dark side. Gameplay The basic premise of the game is that you (ToeJam and Earl) must find the stolen 12 Sacred Albums of Funk, and return them to their rightful owner, the Funk-a-potamous, otherwise known as Lamont. Inevitably, you will take on the Anti-Funk, and save the world from all that is unfunky. ToeJam and Earl: Mission to Earth is set up into several hub worlds that have multiple missions within them. These missions typically consist of unlocking presents, delivering a present, and finding the exit elevator. Stopping you will be everything from psycho cheerleaders to ninja rabbits. Bizarre indeed.To access the different missions, you will need to find a specific number of keys as noted by the sign of the door you are trying to enter. These keys are found in all the levels and hubs, and as you collect enough to open a door, the game will let you know you can now enter that door. This keeps you from having to wander door to door, wondering if you have enough keys yet. There are also searchlights that will help you locate these doors.Not every door will lead to a mission though. There are different mini-games that you will run into every once in a while. A couple of these mini-games include knocking a group of bunnies off of a cliff, and leaping buildings in a single bound using spring shoes. These are typically timed events that will help you earn money, and sometimes karaoke microphones. These microphones are used to open up battle stages, and also to open gates that lead to other hub worlds. ToeJam and Earl: Mission to Earth makes the logical progression and adds a third playable character: Latisha. All three character play relatively the same set of moves, with differences in the speed, jumping, etc... The characters can jump using A, use funk-fu with X, shoot music with Y, and call up presents using the B button. Funk-fu and shooting notes are not your only means of defence. In some level you'll find a group of sparkling music notes. Touching them will activate a simplified version of today's music games. The game will play a short bar of music, and you must match the beat with the X and Y buttons. Most of these are pretty standard beats but some are quite difficult because instead of playing a couple loops of the beat so you can learn it, the game will play it only once, not to mention the beat is irregular. Add to that the fact that the actual music does not do a good job at emphasising the beat, and you are left in a tough situation. When you do pull it off though, all enemies in the surrounding area will take damage and become funkified. Later on, you will find presents you can use to call up this attack manually rather than finding them strewn about a level. Playable Characters Just like previous entries, up to two players are able to play simultaneously. However with the addition of Latisha as well as three secret characters, both players have the option to hot swap between the characters at the beginning or by finding a location in the overworld(s) that allow you to change characters. Each character also has specific abilities or perks that give them an upper hand over the other characters in certain situations. The additional two characters must be downloaded to the Xbox hard drive. These two characters are: * GeekJam * Earlbot Note: GeekJam is three-legged and green with a bowtie and no mouth, and Earlbot is overweight and silver Intro Raps * Toejam: "Give it up, give it up, give it up for Master T say Ho! For the greatest rapper around the: 'DJ TJ', I jam 'round your head, spinning like a b-ball. Can't stop it, can't even slow it down y'all, you know you got no choice, you gotta dance when I get goin'. Move to the rhythm o' the funk, when I get it flowin'. Gotta give it up, Toejam in the hood. Huh, damn I'm good." * Earl: "Yo, 'dey call me Earl an' I don't say that much so, I'm just cruisin' in the funky flow, you know. Ere'body 'round you know, moving at high speeds. I'm chilling it down, you know moving at my speed. Everybody trippin' getting up in yo' face, gotta stay cool, gotta take it at your own pace." Trivia Name Change- ToeJam & Earl 3: Mission to Earth was originally called ToeJam & Earl 3: All Funked Up but this was changed due to concerns from people that the name was inappropriate but at the end of the game posters still say ToeJam & Earl 3: All Funked Up. Category:Games